DECAMERON INVESTS US$30MLN IN PUNTA SAL HOTEL

ANDINA. Colombian hotel chain Decameron is investing US$30 million in the construction of its Hotel Royal Decameron Punta Sal, which will open in Tumbes later this year.

“The construction commenced in March [2011] and is 20 percent complete,” said Decameron Perú's business manager Marisol Chiroque.

She said the company plans to open the 133-room hotel on December 11 and build 167 additional rooms during the first half of 2012.

“The first stage of the project includes the main restaurant, two bars, an entertainment area, a convention center for 1000 people, a pool, a lobby and  a kilometer-long beach,” she added. 

The second stage will include the construction of two theme restaurants, two bars, a spa and tennis courts. 

In February 2008, Blue Marlin Association, which comprises Decameron Hotels and Peru’s Nuevo Mundo, announced their plans to invest 65 million dollars in hotel projects in Punta Sal, Cusco and the Sacred Valley of the Incas.

Decameron Hotels operates 30 hotels and resorts in 11 countries in the Caribbean, Central and South America, and Africa.

Punta Sal is a small beach resort in the department of Tumbes. (Photo: ANDINA)

HILTON TO BUILD NEW HOTELS IN MIRAFLORES AND CUSCO

ANDINA. The construction of a Doubletree by Hilton hotel in the city of Cusco will start next year and will require an investment of approximately $50 million, reported Inversiones Brade, operator in Peru of Hilton Hotels Corporation franchise .

For this, Inversiones Brade has an area located on the slope of Santa Ana, four blocks from the Plaza de Armas of Cusco, livinginperu reports.

"So far we have not developed this project because in the last 16 months Cusco showed some uneasiness – elections, natural disasters – which has obviously created a detraction from tourism," said the president of Inversiones Brade, Ricardo Bracale.

He recalled that after six years of proceedings, the company achieved a municipal permit to build the hotel, which will have 120 five-star rooms.

"However, before consolidating this investment we plan to build a 120-room extended stay, suite hotel in Lima for purely corporate visitors," he said.

He explained that the new property is located in the Miraflores district alongside the Doubletree El Pardo Hotel.

"A lot of corporate hires are coming to Peru and are demanding stays of 15 days, a month or month and a half until they get an apartment, and our offer will serve this need," he said.

Bracale estimated investment for this hotel will be around $20 million and will open in 12 months. Inversiones Brade, owner of the Doubletree El Pardo Hotel, also operates the five-star resort Doubletree Guest Suites by Hilton in Paracas.

Hilton Hotels Corporation is a leading hotel chain worldwide with over 2,900 hotels and 480 thousand rooms in 76 countries.

Cusco's main suare. (Photo: ANDINA)

PERU IN THE SPOTLIGHT AS IDEAL SURFING DESTINATION

ANDINA. In the classic 1966 film “The Endless Summer,” two surfing buddies travel to Australia, South Africa and Tahiti in their quest to ride great waves all year long. It turns out they could have just come to Peru.

Though best known among travelers for the Incan ruins of Machu Picchu, Peru is now becoming a mecca for surfers. Due to Peru’s location near the equator, currents from the Northern and Southern hemispheres provide non-stop surf-able waves along much of the country’s 1,500 miles of Pacific coast.

Big wave surfers can find imposing 30-footers. Near the port town of Chicama, so-called “point-break” waves running parallel to the shore can carry surfers more than a mile.

“The good thing about this country is that we have waves all year round,” said Alberto Lopez, who runs one of about a dozen surf schools on Miraflores Beach, a stone’s throw from downtown Lima. “Even Hawaii doesn’t have waves all year round.”

Lopez works seven days a week because so many people want to learn the sport. Indeed, Lima — home to 9 million people — is one of the few capital cities in the world with decent waves. After landing at the international airport, surfers can be riding the waves within an hour. Click here to read complete article on globalpost.com.

The concept of surfing may have originated 2,000 years ago
with indigenous fishermen in northern Peru.